I doubt he was shooting for his arms or some none lethal area. That only happens on TV when some cop at 50 yards shoots a firearm out of the hands of some felon. It also goes against his training.
Stats show that most gun battles happen within 7 yards, probably even closer than that.
An episode of NYPD portrayed that accurately: one of the characters emptied his Det Special from across the room at a guy in a closet and missed. That is the likely outcome of a stress related shooting.
Agreed, that wasn’t his _intent_. It was, however, exactly what _happened_.